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What does Alfa mean or stand for ?


E36UDM
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Neutral Newbie

A.L.F.A. was short for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili (Car Factory of Lombarda). The first A.L.F.A. was the 24 HP designed by self-self-taught engineer Giuseppe Merosi. This was a large, conventional touring car with a 4L, 4 cylinder cast iron engine, producing 42 HP (the 24 HP designation referred to the power rating for tax purposes). Merosi's Alfa designs were unadventurous but solid with a high level of quality and reliability.

nicola_romeo_150.jpgA.L.F.A.'s sales grew in the years following 1910, but the outbreak of W.W. I put a stop to automobile production. In 1916 the company came under the direction of the Neopolitan industrialist Nicola Romeo.

Romeo's other companies were deeply involved in supplying the Italian and Allied war effort, and the A.L.F.A. plant began producing military hardware. Romeo earned a fortune during the war, and was able to purchase A.L.F.A. outright in 1918. After the war, production resumed under the the new name Alfa Romeo.Merosi continued as head designer, producing a series of solid production models and several successful racing cars. However, he ultimately proved unable to produce the innovative passenger car designs that were needed for Alfa Romeo to remain competitive. In 1923, Merosi was replaced by Vittorio Jano, who was hired away from FIAT.

A young Alfa racing driver named Enzo Ferrari was responsible for bringing Jano to the company. Jano's first design for Alfa Romeo was the P2 Grand Prix car. The P2 had a lightweight chassis, and 2L straight-eight engine. The P2 won Alfa Romeo its first world championship in 1925. Under Jano, Alfa Romeo experienced a golden age. He developed a series of small- to medium-displacement 4, 6, and 8 cylinder inline engines based on the P2 motor that established the classic architecture of Alfa motors. Jano's designs not only achieved a high level of performance, but set exceedingly high standards of reliability.

Enzo Ferrari had risen from driver to manager of the Alfa Romeo works racing team by the end of the 1920s. In 1929, he left the company and went into business selling Alfa Romeo cars and preparing them for racing. Ferrari's new enterprise, Scuderia Ferrari, also assumed responsibility for managing the factory racing team and developing racing cars in close collaboration with the factory. alfa_147_front2_200.jpgThe logo is split in half and contains the emblems of Alfa's hometown Milan and the one of the great Milanese 'Visconti' family.

On the left is the red cross on a white background, which refers back to the days of the First Crusade, when many Milanese soldiers were amongst the Lombards who followed Giovanni of Rho to the Holy Land. The red cross was their symbol, whilst the white background symbolised the white shirts they were forced to wear under their armour to protect them from the fierce Palestinian sun.

On the right of the badge are the arms of the Visconti family, which later became recognised as those of the City of Milan.

There are several stories on were the serpent came from. Some says it represents the snakes that the Lombards used to wear round their necks in a little case as a lucky charm, - or the dragon which, at the start of the fifth century, plagued Milan and was finally killed by Uberto, Squire of Angera, and founder of the Visconti family, - or it could be the symbol of Ottone Visconti who fought a victorious duel with the Saracen leader, Voluce, during the First Crusade. The city of Milan, however, claims that the serpent has nothing to do with the Visconti family.

alfa_logo_1925%20laurel.jpegWhat's certain, though, is that the Visconti family emblazoned its red cross and serpent coat of arms over the great door of Castello Sforzesco in Milan - and this is where the Alfa Romeo association begins. Essentially, the Alfa badge consisted of the emblems of Visconti and Milan reversed and placed on a circle instead of a shield. Surrounding the circular motif was placed a dark blue ring containing the inscription 'ALFA' at the top and 'Milano' at the bottom. Completing the badge was a Savoy dynasty knot on either side of the blue ring, separating the wording. When the famous P2 Grand Prix cars won the first ever World Championship in 1925, the badge was encircled with thick silver laurel leaves in embossed metalwork. Over the years, these leaves lost their prominence and became less luxuriant, and when the monarchy was abolished and Italy became a republic, the Savoy dynasty knot was replaced by two wavy lines.

In 1972 the whole badge was simplified to what it is today. The word 'Milano' was dropped following the opening of the Pomigliano factory in the south - and the manufacturing of the first Alfasuds.

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Neutral Newbie

you go and start this thread, wait Mondeo come and complain say all abt alfa again......

 

so what does SAAB stands for

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Neutral Newbie
(edited)

ya coz u bz drifting hor sly.giflaugh.giflaugh.giflaugh.gif

 

Anyway SAAB = Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget

Edited by E36UDM
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